Cal Jacobson’s Blog

ConnectedText on Ubuntu

If you’re a fan of ConnectedText like I am, you might be interested in knowing that you can get this Windows-only application to run on Linux thanks to WINE.   I found it to be surprisingly simple; as the attached screenshot will attest I have CT 3.0.0.5 running on my Ubuntu 8.04 system.  Here’s how you do it.

• Install WINE.  An overview of what this program is can be found here at Wikipedia, if you’re curious.  Obviously, how you install WINE will vary from system to system, though on Ubuntu (in my opinion one of the most user-friendly Linux distributions out there) you can simply go to “Add/Remove…” under the “Applications” menu item, search for “WINE”, check a box, and click a button.
• Download the ConnectedText installation program from this website and save it somewhere on your system.
• Using a command-line terminal (in Ubuntu this is found at Applications -> Accessories -> terminal), cd (change directory) to the location you saved ConnTextSetup.exe.
• Type wine ConnTextSetup.exe (and hit return/enter) to start the CT installation program under WINE.  Follow the installation instructions as normal.
• With a little luck, the installation will complete without a problem.  You should then be able to start CT via WINE — follow your system-specific directions.  On Ubuntu, this is simply a matter of going to Applications -> Wine->Programs -> ConnectedText -> ConnectedText.

There are some differences, of course.  Some CT plugins, such as Ploticus and Graphviz, do not work (RSS, Tex and Highlight appear to be fine for me, however).  Text on some pages may appear odd — I’ve noticed some minor layout issues involving links.

It’s not perfect but it’ll do in a pinch.